What do you know about Cyrus?
Perhaps not a lot. This relatively new watch brand was founded in 2010, which means it’s ten years old this year. It’s a baby compared with some of the heavyweights in the Swiss watch industry, which date back more than 250 years. But Cyrus does have a long history – that of Cyrus the Great, the intrepid conqueror and founder of the Persian Empire. He reigned in the 5th century BC from the city of Babylon, from which the brand draws its inspiration. Every Cyrus watch bears a replica of an ancient coin on the back. In the space of ten years, this independent watch manufacture has earned a prestigious reputation with fine watch lovers, thanks to its exclusive complications and expressive designs, but also because of the famous name associated with the brand: watchmaker Jean-François Mojon, who is the company’s technical director and the author of its designs.
The rule of three
1. Klepcys Vertical Tourbillon
We love this watch because of its original tourbillon and its symmetry.
Introduced at Baselworld 2018, the Klepcys Vertical Tourbillon, as its name suggests, offers an unusual vertical interpretation of the tourbillon. The tourbillon is vertically aligned in the centre of the watch, and held in place by an arch that stretches from 12 to 6 o’clock. The hours and minutes are shown on retrograde displays, to the left and right respectively of the tourbillon arch. The pointers move in opposite directions – from bottom to top for the hours, and top to bottom for the minutes. The seconds are indicated by the tourbillon at 12 o’clock, and a sphere counts off the remaining days (from 1 to 4) of the 96-hour power reserve. These mechanisms are all driven by a hand-wound mechanical movement. The watch is all about symmetry: the left and right sides of the dial, but also the two crowns positioned at 3 and 9 o’clock, which have become a signature of the brand.
2. Klepcys Alarm Blue
We like the paradox of an old-fashioned complication in an avant-garde watch.
The alarm is a complication that dates back to the 15th century. Watchmakers including Vulcain, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Patek Philippe and Breguet continue to offer them today. They are relatively thin on the ground, however, and Cyrus is the youngest of the bunch. So, why choose an alarm watch? Because it’s deliciously old-fashioned? Perhaps, but there’s nothing old-fashioned about the Klepcys Alarm Blue by Cyrus. It has a contemporary and highly technical design, with a slightly off-centre main hours dial, an alarm subdial between four and five, modern Arabic numerals, an On/Off alarm indicator in red and blue lacquer at 7 o’clock, Day/Night at 11.30, and an aperture through the dial onto the alarm hammer at 8 o’clock. The 26-piece cushion-shaped case is presented in steel and black DLC grade 5 titanium, or all-steel. It has the two crowns to provide symmetry, although only the one at 3 o’clock is functional. The first notch winds the watch, the second sets the time and the third sets the alarm time, to the nearest minute. Once the alarm is set, the watch will wake you by chiming for a maximum of 16 seconds. The Calibre CYR1280, a manually-wound movement, has two barrels mounted in parallel, one to power the timekeeping functions and the other for the alarm.
3. Kambys titanium
We love its square shape, its original complications and its secrets .
This slightly older model (from 2013) deserves to be brought back into the limelight. The Kambys Titanium, named after the son of Cyrus the Conqueror, has a hand-wound movement that powers hours, minutes, a small second and a power reserve indicator. The latter two functions are given a rather unusual treatment: the small second is shown on three hands that each count off 20 seconds, and the power reserve (7 days) is indicated by three beads that slide along a rod, like an abacus. Finally, a press of the crown reveals three secret functions on the dial.
